10 times Apple learned from massive iPhone mistakes

It might be the most successful smartphone on the planet, but the iPhone didn’t become what it is today without some failures along the way.

Even before the device made its much-anticipated debut in 2007, Apple overcame big missteps and mistakes. It tried putting iTunes on other phones. It believed we didn’t need native apps. It entered into embarrassing partnerships with big bands.

As Cult of Mac looks back over the iPhone’s history to celebrate the device’s 10th anniversary, in collaboration with Wired UK, 10 big failures stick out like a sore thumb.

Wired UK‘s roundup includes things like Apple’s partnership with Motorola, which saw iTunes making its way to third-party devices. And then there’s Apple’s decision to wait a whole year before opening up the iPhone to developers, and allowing Android to overtake iOS.

But this isn’t just a list of the things Apple did wrong; it also looks at what the Cupertino company did to rectify and learn from its mistakes. It helps us understand how Apple rolls with the punches to improve, rather than ignoring its errors and hoping they’ll just disappear.

It’s what separates Apple from the likes of BlackBerry, which famously ignored the rise of touch-based devices like the iPhone and suffered significantly as a result. It’s what has made iPhone the most successful smartphone, and iOS the world’s most advanced mobile operating system.

If you’re an iPhone fan, go and check out the full roundup. It’s an interesting read, and you will undoubtedly learn things about the iPhone’s rise that you never knew.